Chapter 90 - What To Do if You’re the Villain and the Heroine Likes You

After hiding the martial arts novel that Fan Ziruo cannot read, He Yunxiao felt relaxed. He was well aware of Fan Ziruo's observational skills. He knew that by bringing so many books with him, not giving her a few would easily arouse her suspicion. Suspicion would lead to mistrust and eventually affect their relationship. Goodwill is everything! It's a matter of life and death for both of them. Now that the books are safely hidden, their lives are spared. He felt relieved. While the three martial arts novels that Fan Ziruo can't read have impressive action descriptions and vivid imagery, it would be a pity to just discard them. He planned to secretly sneak back under the fruit tree during the lunch break at Fan Mansion’s study and take the novels back home. In Qi, books are considered luxury items. Even if they are not read, using them as toilet paper is still a lucrative option and should not be wasted. He Yunxiao, skillfully headed to the study at Fan Mansion. As expected, Fan Ziruo was already seated at the table waiting for him. He politely knocked and entered. "Ziruo, good morning," he greeted. Fan Ziruo stood up from her chair and gave a courteous bow. "Good morning, Master He." Just like before, He sat at the desk and took out a book. Fan Ziruo, noticing him busy, casually asked, "Master, did you remember what you wanted to tell me when you left last night?" He paused for a moment, carefully trying to recall what he wanted to say at that moment but found his mind blank. He instinctively thought of making something up but then suddenly remembered Nanzhu wife. She was the one whom he ended up deceiving with nonsense. He quelled the urge to fabricate something and sincerely smiled, "I'm sorry, Ziruo, I still can't remember." Though Fan Ziruo was curious about what He wanted to say last night, she was sensible and understanding. She wouldn't dwell on such trivial matters. Nodding and saying "it's okay," she let it go. He arranged the martial arts manuals and the novels he brought from the He Mansion on the table, intending to find a reason to give them to Fan Ziruo. However, before he could come up with an explanation, Fan Ziruo handed him something to read. A stack of papers. "Master, this is the novel I wrote last night," she presented it to He with averted eyes, blushing slightly and with a hint of shyness. Seeing her like this, He remembered her mentioning about rewriting a new novel when they parted ways yesterday. Glancing at the thick pile of papers, He was surprised. This Miss Fan is quite proactive, writing so much in such a short time. He had always followed the principle of "repaying kindness with even greater kindness." Therefore, when Fan Ziruo handed him the novel, he had no reason not to accept it with both hands, like the gentleman he was. He took out his handkerchief and wiped his hands clean before respectfully accepting the manuscript from Fan Ziruo. Respecting someone's hobby is the best way to gain goodwill. [Fan Ziruo's goodwill increased from 66 to 68] "You don't have to be so formal, Ziruo. But is this the new one you want me to read?" he asked. "Yes." "So, I'm the first one to read it?" "Yes." He had a strange feeling. Since he knew that Fan Ziruo knew little, he decided to probe, "Does it mean that I'm taking your first writing to read?" Fan Ziruo, thinking He was referring to the novel, nodded seriously, "Yes. Please take it, Master." Seeing her graceful and beautiful demeanor and hearing what she said, He felt a little excited, in various senses. Darn it... This is tough... Goodwill, how much now... 68... almost there... Nuclear-powered ploughing the land... His mind almost veered off to an area where it couldn't pass the censors. He had to quickly regain his composure and started reading the new novel earnestly, page by page. He read the first two hundred words. It was a story of a female warrior wanting to kill a male warrior. Turning to steal a glance at Fan Ziruo, he wondered, why is she always having women wanting to kill men in her stories? Could she have such inclination? No, that shouldn't be the case; the system would have noted it in her character traits. Fan Ziruo nervously waited for He's feedback. However, when she saw He sneak glances at her instead of the novel, she felt something was amiss. "Master, if you have any questions, you can ask me," she spoke up. Caught red-handed, He quickly averted his gaze. "Alright. It's fine for now. I'll keep reading," he said. What in the world did she write? It's a story that jumps straight into a fight without explaining the time, place, characters, or reasons! I can’t make sense of any of this! Perhaps due to yesterday's martial arts practice, Fan Ziruo's description of fighting was indeed more detailed. This was the only upside. He patiently continued reading, as it was a friend's novel and he had to finish it to give feedback. If it were an Internet novel, there would have been a large exit button for him to use long ago, leaving no trace of having read it. He forced himself to continue reading, but the more he read, the less patience he had. To sum it up, the plot was just back and forth fighting between two people. Due to the lack of time, place, characters, and motivation, despite the full textual description, there was no sense of immersion. The characters in the story did not resonate emotionally with the reader. It was quite a failure. Luckily, Fan Ziruo's elegant handwriting somewhat swept away He's dissatisfaction. After finishing one page, He turned the manuscript to read the next page, only to find that there was nothing... Why did you give me such a thick pile of paper for just one page? He realized something quite serious. "Ziruo, how long did it take you to write this page of the novel?" he asked. "Two hours." He calculated in his mind realising that writing over a thousand words in four hours... He immediately halted his thoughts of web novels, acknowledging that such speed was actually quite fast among physical book writers. He had always been aware of Fan Ziruo's shortcomings. To put it simply, she couldn't tell a story properly. Not providing the necessary information to readers, lack of plot development, and a lot of other issues. In short, she couldn't tell a story. But at the moment, considering the hard-earned goodwill of 68, He couldn't bring himself to criticize her. He knew that some things would not be understood if left unsaid. However, verbal honesty came at the price of painstakingly achieving a goodwill of 68! He hesitated. He thought about just lying to her, flattering her until goodwill reached 80, and then telling her the truth... But he immediately dismissed that idea. Darn it, how did I come up with that again? Remember how Nanzhu wife ended up! "Master," seeing He hesitating, Fan Ziruo could guess some things. "Master, Ziruo understands," she said. "What do you understand?" He asked in surprise. "My novel, it's not good," she admitted. He didn't want to deceive the girl again, having learned a lesson from Nanzhu wife. He put the manuscript down and asked, "Do you know what's not good about it?" Fan Ziruo fidgeted with her hands on the table, but still smiling, she said, "Judging from Master's expression, he wouldn't hesitate if it was just a small imperfection. Since you're hesitating, my novel is probably terrible in every aspect." He sighed inwardly. Undeniably, Ziruo was too clever. That was indeed He's thought, but he had already changed his mind. Reaching out, he gently grasped Fan Ziruo's fidgety hand on the table, looking straight into her eyes. "Ziruo, I just want you to tell me one thing. Were you happy when you wrote the novel?" Fan Ziruo was well aware of the boundaries between men and women, and naturally, she didn't want He to hold her hand. However, the look in He's eyes was warm and powerful, making her forget her initial reaction. In response to He's question, she involuntarily replied, "Yes, I was happy." "Ziruo, believe me. Don't worry about what others think. As long as you're happy, your novel is the best!" [Fan Ziruo's goodwill increased from 68 to 73]